South Dakota: abortion showdown advances
on Mar 6, 2006 at 5:29 pm
South Dakota on Monday moved one official step closer to provoking a constitutional showdown over abortion rights, as Gov. Mike Rounds signed into law a bill that would outlaw all abortions except those necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman. The full text of the governor’s signing statement can be found here. The text of the bill as enrolled can be found here.
The aim of the sponsors of the legislation is to push the limits on abortion far enough that they would test the underlying constitutional basis of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision establishing a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy. Gov. Rounds, in his statement, said: “The reversal of a Supreme Court opinion is possible,” citing Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and its reversal of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). “HB 1215 will give the United States Supreme Court a similar opportunity to reconsider an earlier opinion.”
Calling it “a direct challenge” to Roe, Rounds said “I expect this law will be taken to court and prevented from going into effect this July. That challenge will likely take years to be settled and it may ultimately be decided by the United States Supreme Court.”
Planned Parenthood Federation of America has said it would file a court challenge to the new law, but there was no immediate word Monday evening on when such a case might be filed.
